5 players who lifted the Ballon d'Or without winning the Champions League

#4 Michael Owen (2001)

Michael Owen was presented with the Ballon d'Or award in 2001 following a spectacular season that saw him score 31 goals for Liverpool.

That year, Owen almost single-handedly helped the Reds to a number of titles starting with the FA Cup where he scored a dramatic brace against Arsenal to help his side win the trophy.

The forward also helped Liverpool establish decisive wins over Premier League champions Manchester United in the Charity Shield and Champions League winners Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup.

Internationally, Owen's hat-trick against Germany in a 5-1 victory for the Three Lions at Munich was his most memorable game that year.

This, coupled with his 18 goals in the Premier League, led to his Ballon d'Or win despite not having won the Champions League.

The closest Owen came to winning the Champions League was during his stint with Manchester United in the 2011 final against Barcelona. Ironically, Liverpool won the coveted European title in 2004, the same year he left for Real Madrid.

#3 Fabio Cannavaro (2006)

Fabio Cannavaro beat Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry to become only the third defender to win the Ballon d'Or award in 2006, having captained Italy's famous FIFA World Cup-winning squad and having led Juventus to the Serie A title.

The Italian played for the likes of Inter Milan, Juventus, and Real Madrid in the course of his career and won several titles like La Liga, the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa Italiana, and the UEFA Cup. Despite having won a series of domestic titles, Cannavaro still failed to lift the Champions League crown.

The closest Cannavaro came to winning the coveted European title was during a semi-final between Inter Milan and rivals AC Milan in 2003.